All Blacks' coach Dave Rennie has finally opened up about the future involvement of veteran lock Brodie Retallick with the national team. Retallick, who last donned the All Blacks jersey in the 2023 World Cup final, has been tearing up the turf in Japan's Rugby League One, leading his team as the top try-scorer.
Under the guidance of Rennie at Kobelco Kobe Steelers, Retallick has been a force to reckon with, amassing 17 tries to finish as the leading scorer. "He's been the best player in Japan, he's been phenomenal," Rennie remarked. Further boasting about Retallick's prowess, Rennie added,
"He’s just won the award for top try-scorer, but it’s all the other stuff that Brodie does over there which is outrageous. He trains exactly the way he plays."
Rennie disclosed that while he and Retallick have discussed the possibility of a return to the All Blacks, it won't be happening this season. Citing the challenges of long-distance travel, Rennie explained, "No Brodie this year. He’s unavailable to do a lot of long-distance travel. The biggest travel Brodie does nowadays is on the Shinkansen [bullet train] to Tokyo. He wasn’t excited about six weeks in Africa [for the Greatest Rivalry tour]."
Despite the logistical hurdles, Rennie remains optimistic about Retallick's potential future with the team. "He loves the All Blacks and I reckon he’s good enough. It will take discussions, so we’ll push that back at the moment and focus on this year, and then we’ll talk about Brodie next year [for the World Cup]," Rennie stated, hinting at the lock's possible involvement in the upcoming tournament.
"I reckon he’s earned the right, if he was available and the system allowed it, to potentially be available next year."
This sentiment echoes past discussions held between Retallick and former All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. However, the current policy of NZ Rugby, which mandates that players must be contracted to a domestic club to be eligible for the national team, stands as a barrier for overseas-based players like Retallick.
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All Blacks' coach Dave Rennie has finally opened up about the future involvement of veteran lock Brodie Retallick with the national team. Retallick, who last donned the All Blacks jersey in the 2023 World Cup final, has been tearing up the turf in Japan's Rugby League One, leading his team as the top try-scorer.
Under the guidance of Rennie at Kobelco Kobe Steelers, Retallick has been a force to reckon with, amassing 17 tries to finish as the leading scorer. "He's been the best player in Japan, he's been phenomenal," Rennie remarked. Further boasting about Retallick's prowess, Rennie added,
"He’s just won the award for top try-scorer, but it’s all the other stuff that Brodie does over there which is outrageous. He trains exactly the way he plays."
Rennie disclosed that while he and Retallick have discussed the possibility of a return to the All Blacks, it won't be happening this season. Citing the challenges of long-distance travel, Rennie explained, "No Brodie this year. He’s unavailable to do a lot of long-distance travel. The biggest travel Brodie does nowadays is on the Shinkansen [bullet train] to Tokyo. He wasn’t excited about six weeks in Africa [for the Greatest Rivalry tour]."
Despite the logistical hurdles, Rennie remains optimistic about Retallick's potential future with the team. "He loves the All Blacks and I reckon he’s good enough. It will take discussions, so we’ll push that back at the moment and focus on this year, and then we’ll talk about Brodie next year [for the World Cup]," Rennie stated, hinting at the lock's possible involvement in the upcoming tournament.
"I reckon he’s earned the right, if he was available and the system allowed it, to potentially be available next year."
This sentiment echoes past discussions held between Retallick and former All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. However, the current policy of NZ Rugby, which mandates that players must be contracted to a domestic club to be eligible for the national team, stands as a barrier for overseas-based players like Retallick.